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OUR MORAL NATURE 



BEING 



A BRIEF SYSTEM OF ETHICS 



BY 

JAMES McCOSH, D.D., LL.D., D.L. 

EX-PRESIDENT OF PRINCETON COLLEGE 



NEW YORK 
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 

1892 



is-zis-k 






'i- 



£ 



Copyright, 1892, by 
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 



TROW DIRECTORY 

PRINTING AND BOOKBINDING COMPANY 

NEW YORK 



INTRODUCTORY NOTE 

The human mind has been the study of my 
life. 

I have published two volumes on Psychology 
generally ; one on the Cognitive, and the other 
on the Motive Powers. I have issued a vol- 
ume of Metaphysics, on First and Fundamental 
Truths. I have published a volume of Logic, 
being the Laws of Discursive Thought. I now 
present another on Ethics, or, Our Moral Nat- 
ure. I have issued two volumes, one didactic, 
the other historical, on Realistic Philosophy. 

I have published a work on the Tests of Vari- 
ous Sorts of Truth, in opposition to the prevail- 
ing agnosticism ; and I have presented a little 
volume inquiring whether the prevailing philos- 
ophies can give us Eeality logically. This work, 
if carried out consistently, will undermine the 
current ideal philosophy by giving Reality its 



IV INTRODUCTORY NOTE 

proper place. I should like to write a brief 
treatise on .ZEsthetics. But I have already 
treated, so far, of this subject in the Motive 
Powers, and it is doubtful if advancing age 
will admit of my doing more. 

Princeton, May, 1892. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



PART FIRST 

FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES 

SECTION PAGE 

I. Aim of the Treatise, .... 1 
II. Moral Obligation, .... 2 

III. Conscience, 3 

IV. Moral Laav, . ■ . . . .7 
V. Love, ....... 8 

VI. The Divine Existence, . . 11 

VII. The Combined Moral Principles, . 13 

VIII. The Will, 14 

IX. Evangelical Ethics, . . . .15 

X. Sin, 17 

XI. Punishment, 17 

XII. Ethics Considered Objectively, . 18 



PART SECOND 

MORAL IDEAS 

XIII. Happiness and Morality, . . .21 

XIV. Moral Excellence, . . . .22 



VI TABLE OF CONTENTS 

SECTION PAGE 

XV. Justice, 23 

XVI. Rights, 23 

XVII. Property, 24 

XVIII. Benevolence and Justice, . . .25 

XIX. Summum Bonum, 27 

XX. Virtuous Acts, 27 

XXI. Morality and our Natural Facul- 
ties, 28 

XXII. The Sabbath, 29 



PART THIRD 

DUTIES 

XXIII. Duties to God, 31 

XXIV. False Systems, . . ' . . .36 
XXV. Duties to our Fellow-men, . . 37 

XXVI. To TnE Churches, 45 

XXVII. The State, 46 

XXVIII. War, 48 

XXIX. Duties to Ourselves, . . . .49 



OUR MORAL NATURE 

PART FIRST 

FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES 

Sect. I. Aim or the Treatise. — In my earlier 
volumes I have fully exposed the nature of our 
Intellect, of our Feelings, and of our Will. But 
no one of these, nor can the whole, give to man 
his morality and his moral ideas. In this trea- 
tise I am to show that man is a moral agent, and 
expound his moral ideas and powers. 

It is one of the shortest of the common trea- 
tises on Ethics or Moral Philosophy. This be- 
cause the collateral topics usually discussed in 
ethical works are treated of in my other philo- 
sophic woi^ks. I can refer those who wish for a 
fuller exposition of kindred mental subjects to 
my two volumes on Psychology. 

I may mention that in these works I show 
that man is a personal being. I therefore as- 
sume the doctrine and use it in this work. 



2 OUR MORAL NATURE 

Sect. II. Moral Obligation. — We are all 
familiar with Moral Obligation in this our 
crowded world. 

There are acts which are obligatory physi- 
cally, such as partaking of food and taking exer- 
cise, in order to preserve our health. These acts 
we are required to attend to by the necessities 
of our nature. 

There are other acts which are felt to be ob- 
ligatory, but which we are not required to do by 
any external force : to keep our promise, to 
pay our debts, to hold by our contracts. There 
may be no external power constraining such 
acts. We are prompted to them by internal 
motives which show that there is will in them ; 
we feel that we ought to perform them. A bur- 
den is laid upon us which we are not at liberty 
to decline. We feel reproach when we contra- 
vene the act, or when we neglect it. 

Now this second class of obligatory acts we 
call moral, and the violation we call immoral. 
It is our business in this little work to inquire 
into their nature and expose them to view. To 
use a common statement, ethics has to do not 
with what is, but what ought to be ; not with 
quid est, but with quid oportet. 



OUR MORAL NATURE 6 

Sect. ILL Conscience. — I am not sure 
whether I should not have begun with Con- 
science rather than Obligation. It is to the 
Conscience we owe the Obligation. We first 
feel the obligation, and then refer it to our mo- 
ral nature, and specially to the conscience. 

I am not here to trace the full nature of con- 
science. This I have done elsewhere in " Psy- 
chology, the Motive Powers ; " I am simply to look 
upon it in certain aspects. We must look upon 
it as implying that certain acts are obligatory. 

But specially I am to look upon it as cogni- 
tive. It discerns the good and the evil ; it ac- 
cepts the one and it rejects the other. 

Some speak and write as if the conscience 
were an arbitrary, or at best merely a positive 
power enjoined by Him who planted it in our con- 
stitution. But conscience is a cognitive power ; 
it discerns the good and the evil in the act, say 
benevolence or malevolence, just as the eye per- 
ceives color, say red or blue, in that flower, or as 
the muscular senses feel resistance in that stone 
which we hold in the hand. The good and the 
bad are in the acts, and are perceived by what 
has been expressively called the Moral Sense. 

It is to be carefully noticed that it is not the 



4 OUR MORAL NATURE 

decision of conscience that makes an action 
good or bad. It is good or evil in itself, and its 
character is discovered by the moral power 
which approves or disapproves accordingly. It 
perceives benevolence to be good, it perceives 
cruelty to be bad ; and perceives both to be so 
in their very nature, just as we perceive lead to 
be heavy and feathers to be light. 

It is a curious circumstance that the word for 
conscience is not found in ancient Hebrew nor 
in Greek till after the time of Aristotle. The 
word in Greek is o-wdBqcris, and in Latin is con- 
scientia; both signifying joint knowledge and 
action, that is, a knowledge of the act with its 
moral character. The phrase is used in the 
Greek Testament on various occasions, in all 
cases appropriately and expressively. There is 
the answer of a good conscience toward God 
(1 Pet. iii. 21). This supports us when we are 
falsely accused. There are persons of whom it 
might be said that their mind and conscience, 
that is, that their understanding and moral per- 
ceptions, are defiled (Titus i. 15). We meet at 
times with people in whom, as the result of a 
long course of wickedness, their consciences are 
" seared as with a hot iron " (1 Tim. iv. 2). In 



OITR MORAL NATURE 5 

such, indeed in all cases, we need to have our 
"hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience" 
(Heb. x. 22). This seems to be the accurate 
account psychologically, according to our ob- 
servation and experience. The conscience, when- 
ever it acts, does so with authority, making man 
a moral agent. Though the conscience was not 
separated from other powers, or named till a 
hundred years or so before Christ, yet all along 
the soul undivided is spoken of as condemning 
the evil and approving the good. 

There has been much discussion as to 
whether the conscience can be perverted, or 
whether it can be corrupted. It seems to some 
that conscience is a divine power planted in the 
mind by God, at once perfect, and never to be 
led astray or deteriorated. But, on the other 
hand, it does look as if the conscience, like every 
other faculty in our nature, may be led astray. 
It may become dull and obtuse, as, for instance, 
in heathen countries, where it may be satisfied 
with irrational creeds and unworthy ceremonies. 
It is notorious that the conscience is apt to fall 
into a slumberous state, and give little or no no- 
tice of temptation assailing us. In some cases 
it has become so perverted that it has declared 



b OUR MORAL NATURE 

evil to be good ; it has declared persecution to 
be good, which it never is. In other cases it has 
declared good to be evil, declared kindness to 
enemies to be a crime. At times, as among rob- 
bers, it has sanctioned deeds that are cruel and 
revengeful. There are cases in which the con- 
science can be made to accuse itself and con- 
demn its own acts. It seems clear to me that 
there are cases in which the lower passions of 
our nature are ever overmastering our moral 
perceptions. The Scriptures are right when 
they speak of the conscience as " defiled," as be- 
ing " seared as with a hot iron." 

It is clear that the conscience is placed in the 
very heart of our nature for a purpose — that it 
may be a prompter and monitor. Like the bee, 
it has its sweets, but it has also its sting. 
When it is obeyed willingly there is a glow of 
satisfaction. Its reproaches may become very 
fearful, disclosing to us the sins which have 
been committed, and the awful gulfs into 
which we may fall. The accusations of con- 
science may be the acutest of all the miseries to 
which we are exposed, lacerating us like the 
wild beasts, or stinging like innumerable insects. 

It has its rewards. The deed enjoined having 



OUR MORAL NATURE 7 

been clone there is a glow of satisfaction. It 
has its penalties. The act enjoined having been 
opposed, or even neglected, we have a regret, a 
dissatisfaction, or a reproach, which disturbs 
and annoys us. In attending to what is com- 
manded we are conscious that we are doing 
right, and have more or less anticipation that 
the consequences must be good. In disobeying 
we have an idea and a feeling more or less dis- 
tinct of evil to come sooner or later. 

The science is made up of the acts morally 
sanctioned or condemned. It has often been 
called Moral Philosophy because it arranges 
into a system the acts approved or disapproved. 

Sect. IV. Moral Law. — Morality is fitly 
characterized by the phrase which Kant has 
constructed and employed, the Categorical Im- 
perative. It is categorical in that it is definite. 
It allows certain acts. It prohibits others. But 
it is so designated chiefly in that it is impera- 
tive. It affirms of certain facts, not simply in 
the indicative mood that they are, or in the 
subjunctive mood that they may be, but in the 
imperative mood that they are to be done or 
that they are not to be done. 



8 OUR MORAL NATURE 

The moral law is authoritative. It issues 
orders, it issues prohibitions. It says thou 
shalt love God ; thou shalt love thy fellow-man. 
It farther declares thou art sinning, that is, 
transgressing law ; thou art not loving God, 
thou art not loving thy fellow-man as thou 
oughtest. 

Our great ethical writer, Bishop Butler, deals 
especially with the authority of our moral nat- 
ure. He shows not only that man has a con- 
science to discover the good and the evil, but that 
this conscience has authority, and supreme au- 
thority, that not only does it reign, but it reigns 
supreme, above every other power — above the 
intelligence, above the feelings. 

Sect. V. Love. — Love is one of the most im- 
portant qualities which make an action good. 
Sometimes it is a general philanthropy extend- 
ing to all persons and prompting us to do them 
good. More frequently it is an affection to 
families or individuals. 

It may mingle with all other affections, and in 
doing so it gives them a moral character. It is 
capable of making the simplest actions good, 
even those acts which we perform from day to 



OUR MORAL NATURE 9 

day and from hour to hour. It has a place in 
all the deeds that are truly virtuous, and im- 
parts a virtuousness to them. 

Having discovered God by the evident traces 
of design and law, we at once discover that we 
stand in a special relation to Him. He is our 
creator, preserver, and ruler ; and we discover 
that we owe love and obedience to Him. I am 
convinced that He is the author, He is cer- 
tainly the guardian of morality. We stand also 
in a close relation to our fellow-men. We owe 
them affection, and kind of service according to 
circumstances. 

Love may manifest itself in two forms. 

The Love of Complacency and Affection. — We 
delight in the object or person beloved. It is 
thus that the mother clasps her infant to her 
bosom ; thus that the sister interests herself in 
every movement of her little brother ; thus that 
the father, saying little but feeling much, follows 
the career of his son in the trying rivalries of 
the world ; thus that throughout our lives our 
hearts, if hearts we have, cling round the tried 
friend of our youth ; thus that the wife would 
leave this world with the last look on her hus- 
band ; thus that the father would depart with 



10 OUR MORAL NATURE 

his sons and daughters around his couch. 
There is a last look which love remembers — that 
given, for instance, when the ship moves away 
with the dear friend in it, or when the soul 
leaves the earth to wing its way to heaven. 
Love looks out for the person loved. The 
mother readily discovers her son in that crowd. 
The blacksmith 

Hears his daughter's voice 
Singing in the village choir. 

The Love of Benevolence. — In this we not only 
delight in the contemplation and society of the 
persons loved ; we wish well to them, we wish 
them all that is good, and so far as in our power 
we do them all that is good. We will oblige 
them if we can ; we will serve them if it is in 
our power ; we will watch for opportunities of 
promoting their welfare ; we will make sacrifices 
for their welfare. This love is ready to flow 
toward relatives and friends, toward neighbors 
and companions, toward all with whom we come 
in contact ; it will go out toward the whole fam- 
ily of mankind. We are ready to increase their 
happiness, and in the highest exercises of love 



OUR MORAL NATURE 11 

to raise them in the scales of being and to exalt 
them morally and spiritually. 

The love of God thus manifests itself in mul- 
tiplying happiness or spreading holiness. But 
it may be asked, How can this benevolence be 
exhibited by us toward God, who is independent 
of us and needs not our aid ? The answer is, We 
identify ourselves with Him, and strive to pro- 
mote His glory and the causes in which He is 
interested. 

These two forms of love are not inconsistent 
with each other ; they should always be united. 
Without the affection charity is felt to be cold. 
Without the benevolence the charity would be 
felt to be hypocritical. The two joined give us 
the full-orbed grace — all light and no shadow. 

Sect. VI. The Divine Existence. — Man is led 
naturally to believe in God. I do not maintain, 
with Schleiermacher, that he has a God-con- 
sciousness or an immediate perception of God. 
What I hold is, that man is induced by the in- 
stance of adaptation or design, to which his at- 
tsntion is ever called in his own person and in 
all around him, to believe in One who is the au- 
thor of it all. This is the argument which has 



12 OUR MORAL NATURE 

had power on men in all ages, and to which Mr. 
John S. Mill advises us to adhere. We see it in 
the adaptation of one thing to another, of the 
bones to form joints suited to the position 
which they occupy ; at the shoulders to give a 
rotatory motion, and a direct motion backward 
and forward in the fingers and toes. We see it 
in the events of providence, encouraging what is 
good and chastising what is bad. 

There is another argument telling powerfully 
on all, and regarded by some as stronger than 
any other. It is what is called the moral argu- 
ment. We find a belief rising in us of the ex- 
istence of God, and in doing so we know so 
much of His nature. We come to know Him as 
a moral God. We know that morality is defec- 
tive when He has not a place in it, and is the 
very life of it. When God commands, morality 
is felt to be infallible and unchangeable. As these 
principles act the mind has a new idea not em- 
braced in any other science ; it is that of moral 
excellence. This claims to govern our whole 
nature. It is the subject specially discussed by 
the great ethical writer, Bishop Butler. The 
love makes the whole process lovely and attrac- 
tive. 



OUR MORAL NATURE 13 

Sect. VII. The Combined Mokal Principles. 
— The above seem the deeper principles, consti- 
tuting indeed the very essence of our moral nat- 
ure. It is the office of Ethics to exhibit them to 
the view. I am not sure in what order they come 
or which should be first stated. They seem to 
appear simultaneously. They act and react upon 
each other. They act various parts and serve 
somewhat different ends ; but they combine in a 
common issue and constitute a unity, even as the 
mind itself is a Unity. Morality is a concrete 
mass, the different aspects of which may be sepa- 
rately considered, but cannot be separated in fact. 

The Obligation prepares for the discovery of 
moral acts. It is the science of right and obli- 
gation. The Conscience actually reveals the acts 
as good or bad. The Law makes the acts impera- 
tive, and enjoins the precepts and prohibitions. 
There is always an appeal to God, and there is 
no appeal to a power beyond God. He is seated 
as on a watch-tower, and nothing escapes his 
notice. He looks down upon us as Christ 
looked upon the poor woman who threw her 
mite into the treasury, being all that she had. 
Morality is ever felt to be weak when it is not 
sanctioned by God. 



14 OUR MORAL NATURE 

Sect. VIII. The Will. — It will be readily 
allowed that all good and all evil lie in the 
region of the Will. Now the essential ele- 
ment in Will is choice. But Will must in- 
clude more than the mere resolution to act. 
It must embrace Wish, indeed all acts of se- 
lection or choice. It is only when the mind 
is thus exercised that the act can be called 
ours. 

When we wish or will that which is according 
to law the act can be called moral ; when we 
wish or will that which is contrary to the law, 
the act is immoral. 

Kant is ever speaking of Will as one of the es- 
sentials of morality. He thus opens his work 
on " The Practical Reason : " " Nothing can pos- 
sibly be conceived in the world, or even out of 
the world., that can be called good without quali- 
fication, except a good will." This is an impor- 
tant principle which can and should be defend- 
ed. The actions we perform in order to their 
being moral have been chosen by the performer. 
Till this is done the act can scarcely be said to 
be ours. When the choice is made the action 
is ours, and we may be regarded as responsible 
for it. 



OUR MORAL NATURE 15 



Sect. IX. Evangelical Ethics. — The prin- 
ciples enumerated all proceed on the idea that 
man has not violated them ; in other words, that 
man has not sinned. But, in fact, man has not 
done what he ought to have done. He has not 
followed his moral obligations ; he has not 
obeyed his conscience when it tells him what is 
right. He has not followed that law which is 
his rule of life. He has given offence to God. 
In other words, he has not conformed to those 
principles which are in his constitution. Nor 
is there in these principles any means of recti- 
fying our nature. 

But all this does not free man from the obli- 
gations which are still binding upon him. His 
conscience finds fault with his neglect ; the law 
condemns him ; God is angry with him. Still 
these regulating principles of our moral nature 
are not thereby cancelled or even lowered, but 
are as imperative as ever. The ethics that are 
binding on the perfect man are equally binding 
on the sinful man. We can draw a moral phi- 
losophy from man's fallen nature quite as readily 
as from his upright nature. 

What is not made known by natural ethics is 
revealed in Scripture. The way is opened where- 



16 OUR MORAL NATURE 

by the sinner becomes reconciled to God. Mean- 
while the dignity of morality and its law are care- 
fully preserved. Restoration is effected by what 
we should have done being done by another, who 
on the one hand is connected with God, and on 
the other hand becomes man. Christianity 
comes in with Redemption and Grace : with Re- 
demption to relieve us from the past, with Grace 
to strengthen us for the future. All the old 
virtues — Honesty, Temperance, Charity, Love — 
are as binding as ever. But new ones, becoming 
our restored condition, are added ; all implied 
in the original principles which we have been 
expounding. Then there are certain acts of 
humiliation becoming our position, such as dis- 
trust of ourselves, a sense of dependence. In par- 
ticular there is Repentance, fully described in the 
Catechism of the Westminster divines as a grace 
in which the sinner, " out of a true sense of his 
sin and apprehension of the mercy of God in 
Christ, turns from it unto God (the //.eravoia of 
Scripture) with full purpose of and endeavor 
after new obedience." Along with this there is 
encouragement. Such is Faith, which accepts 
of the offer and is itself accepted. From this 
emerge Hope, Love, and Protection in the f ut- 



OUR MORAL KATURE 17 

ure. We have now an Evangelical service in 
the room of a moral obedience. Over all there 
is a clothing of Humility. 

Sect. X. Sin. — We live in a world where sin 
is more common than excellence. Sin is the 
neglect, or, more criminal, the violation of a law 
which we are bound to obey. That law is re- 
vealed unto us. We know that we ought to 
obey it. We know that we have not obeyed it, 
and that therefore we are sinners. This is the 
condition of every man. It is of unspeakable 
importance that we should know all this, but the 
majority of men do not know it. The conse- 
quence is, on the one hand they are in a dull, 
stupid state ; not contented, but not knowing 
whence their discontent arises ; or in a distracted 
state, feeling their need of peace and yet scarce- 
ly knowing how peace is to be had, and they 
look round for it. Such is the natural state of 
man. The very craving is an evidence of man 
being essentially a moral being. 

Sect. XI. Punishment. — Our moral nature, 
especially the Conscience, which is the expres- 
sion of our moral nature, determines that cer- 
tain acts are evil ; the same moral nature, with 

2 



18 OUR MORAL NATURE 

its adjuncts, especially the understanding, de- 
clares that certain acts should be punished. 

The punishment has two ends in view. One 
is to mark disapprobation of the deeds ; the 
other is premonitory, to prevent a recurrence of 
the offence. Both of these are kept in view by 
God, and are to be kept in view by man in the 
exercise of his power. 

In all cases God is to be regarded as the in- 
flicter of punishment. This he accomplishes in 
this world or in the world to come. Every one 
has to appear before God in judgment, whether 
he has done good or done evil. 

To the civil magistrate God has given a spe- 
cial power, to mark the crime and to prevent its 
recurrence. The individual citizen is not to 
take this power on himself, but to hand it over 
to the magistrate, who has to judge for himself, 
being always responsible to God. There are 
cases in which the culprit, if allowed to live, 
might endanger the lives of peaceful citizens, 
and in these preventive punishment should be 
rigorously inflicted. 

Sect. XII. Ethics Consideeed Objectively. — 
Hitherto ethics have been viewed very much un- 



OUR MORAL NATURE 19 

der a subjective aspect. They are, in fact, very 
much a mental process. But they have an objec- 
tive side. External facts correspond to the in- 
ternal facts and confirm them. One who pursues 
an honest and industrious course of life will 
commonly be successful, by the arrangement of 
Him who hath appointed all things. Outward 
propriety of conduct will commonly be accompa- 
nied with peace and approbation. The idle man 
is almost always liable to fail. The cunning and 
deceitful man is apt to be viewed with distrust 
and suspicion. There is thus a correspondence 
between the internal feeling, good or bad, and 
the external circumstances. The morality within 
is sanctioned by the outward product. Both 
countenance that which is good and lay restraints 
on that which is evil. They conspire to show 
that man is a moral agent, and may contribute 
to moral excellence. 



PAET SECOND 

MORAL IDEAS 

In this Part I am to give some account of the 
Ideas connected with our moral nature. I begin 
with Happiness and its connection with Mo- 
rality. 

I am not to define Happiness. Every one who 
has felt it knows it, and no explanation can 
make it clearer. 

We are instinctively led to wish for and pro- 
mote our own happiness. So we should wish 
also to further the happiness of our fellow-men. 
God evidently intends us to do so. 

God himself is evidently diffusing happiness. 
This is an end kept in view by Him in His 
works. We see it in the easy and effective 
power of motion given to us and to all mankind 
in the arrangement of the bones of our frame 
and the formation of the joints. There is a like 
adaptation through the whole organism of nat- 
ure. As God does everywhere, so should we 



OUR MORAL NATURE 21 

also be promoting the felicity of all sensitive 
creatures. 

Sect. XIII. Happiness and Moeality. — There 
are two kinds of Good which we may seek : The 
one of these is Happiness, the other is Morality. 

There is Happiness. It may come from two 
distinct quarters. It may be got from external 
good, from bodily constitution, from health, 
from wealth and raiment, and from the bless- 
ings of life, whatever these may be. 

Provided we violate no moral principle, pro- 
vided we are all the while seeking for higher and 
moral ends, there is no impropriety, but the op- 
posite, in seeking to promote our comfort or 
our higher felicity. When these blessings are 
bestowed upon us there is ground for gratitude 
to the Giver, which becomes a further source of 
contentment and felicity. The daily benefits 
we receive may, each of them being simple, be 
very small ; but being continued and continuous, 
they become the main source of our happiness 
and the attractions which bind us to this 
world. 

Both the promotion of Happiness and the 
Morality are obligatory. 



22 OUR MORAL NATURE 

Sect. XIV. Moeal Excellence. — We are ex- 
amining our nature to hear what it says. It cer- 
tainly allows that happiness may be sought, and 
enjoins it in various forms, say in comforts or in 
joys. But it as certainly says that there is at least 
one other thing to be sought, and that is moral 
excellence. There are times when these two 
come into collision ; when men must either suffer 
or sin ; must either tell a lie or lose a valuable 
property. Our moral nature decides that ques- 
tion at once, and cannot be made give any other 
answer than the one. It declares that we must 
keep our integrity and let everything else go. 

There is gratitude for favors bestowed on us, 
There are the common civilities of life paid. 
There is special attention to those who are in 
need or who have claims upon us. There are 
the special demands of our home, of our rela- 
tions, of the district, of our country. There are 
the claims which mankind have upon us, above 
all the duty of sending the Gospel to every 
creature, of making known the mercy of God to 
those who have sinned, and who therefore need 
it. These are ends which we should set before 
us habitually. In this way we are to fulfil the 
very ends of our being. 



OUR MORAL NATURE 23 

Sect. XV. Justice. — The definition of it is 
" his own to every one," suum cuique. We are 
to give every man his rights, whatever they may 
be. Herbert Spencer in his volume on "Jus- 
tice " goes so far as to include under it even the 
lower animals, who have certain rights which we 
are bound to attend to. Brutes are to be treated 
with forbearance and kindness. It is one of 
the merits of Bentham and the utilitarians that 
they have included the lower animals, which de- 
mand justice of us. 

But man has higher claims. Not only has he, 
like the brute creatures, a title to justice, but 
he is required as an intelligent being to give 
justice to the lower animals and to his fellow- 
man. This is a peculiarity of justice as a virtue 
on the part of man that he is bound to give 
justice to his fellow-men and to God. To God 
himself justice belongs as an essential attribute. 
All His creatures may expect from Him that 
which is right in time and in eternity. 

Sect. XVI. — Bights. On looking on the ob- 
jects around us we feel that there are certain of 
them which we can claim as ours. Some, when 
traced to their source — indeed all of them — are 



24 OUR MORAL NATURE 

by the appointment of God. Such are the light 
and rains, of which no one can lawfully deprive 
us. Some seem to be ours by the very nature 
of things; thus parents have to provide for 
their children and to see them educated. Some 
seem to be ours by the customs of the country, 
such as the right to decent burial. Such is our 
property generally — in wages or in inheritance, 
in land or money or stocks. We can claim 
these. No one has a right to deprive us of 
them. Under the same head may be placed all 
that we earn by bodily or mental exertion, by 
our talents or our industry, and also by our in- 
genuity and our character. These are rights 
which we can claim for ourselves, and which we 
are bound to allow in others. 

Seot. XVII. Property. — Almost every one 
has rights of some description given him by his 
father or mother, or earned by ability or indus- 
try on his own part. To these, when his right 
is established, he is entitled to adhere. No one 
has a right to deprive him of this property. If 
he parts with any portion of it, it is supposed 
by some equivalent being granted. 

But to this same head belong some other 



OUR MORAL NATURE 25 

things which men value ; there belong, in par- 
ticular, his character, his reputation. These 
constitute his property ; they belong to him, 
and he may turn them to whatever use he sees 
fit, and earn by them other property such as 
money or land or higher reputation. By this 
means society is bound together by bonds 
which impart confidence to the operations 
which are carried on, and tend to carry on these 
still farther, till society is bound together in a 
way which cannot readily be broken. 

Sect. XVIII. Benevolence and Justice. — Both 
are allowed, both are required, each according 
to what is demanded in the circumstances. All 
men seek happiness, and God delights to bestow 
it. But there is another good which we ought 
to seek, and that is moral excellence. 

There are times when we can have both. 
There is first health and happiness. There is 
also moral personal goodness. It is to be un- 
derstood that when we can have both without 
any conflict we may seek and obtain both. But 
when there is a contest and conflict, which is to 
give way ? Our nature properly interpreted 
decides that question in the name of conscience 



26 OUR MORAL NATURE 

and of God. The phrases good and right are 
applied to this high decision, the former denot- 
ing the love, the latter more especially the law. 

In respect of the claims which Justice and 
Beneficence have upon us there is no difference. 
I am bound to pay a certain sum to this poor 
man for the work done for me. Not only so, 
but, as he cannot sustain himself and is my 
neighbor, I am bound to give him a decent sum 
in charity. 

For the debt I owe him I am required to give 
the man a certain sum. But the obligation to 
charity is not thus definite. I am bound to give 
in charity to the poor, but how much — a dollar 
or a pound or ten pounds — this is left to myself. 
In this way God would sift and try us to make 
us manifest how much love or charity there is 
in us. This difference is often expressed by 
the distinction drawn between duties "of per- 
fect and imperfect obligation." We must care- 
fully distinguish between the two, between a 
debt and charity, and we must be particularly 
careful not to reduce the rigid form of the for- 
mer to the looser form of the less stringent. 
Both duties are to be performed. In both we 
are responsible to God. 



OUR MORAL NATURE 27 

Sect. XIX. Summum Bonum. — The phrase 
was used by the ancients. It can be understood 
by us. It denotes the highest excellence. 

I am not sure that it should be applied to 
mere happiness, even the highest and the purest. 
It would be more appropriately employed in 
speaking of the highest moral excellence. It 
may be most appropriately used when it leads 
to and is accompanied with the purest happi- 
ness. This is a bonum which all may seek to 
attain, and it is the summum bonum. 

Sect. XX. Virtuous Acts. — As the result of 
these various discussions we should be able to 
determine what is the nature of virtue or moral 
excellence. Certainly Love is an element in it. 
It may not be there consciously ; but it is there 
in action. This is not all : there is also Law. 
The two combined give us virtuous action. Both 
are voluntary, though the voluntary action may 
be very much unobserved. 

In ordinary cases there is no analysis by us 
of the elements. The whole is one noble im- 
pulse. The law presents us with the form, the 
love gives the wings. This is always, or almost 
always, accompanied by feeling. This diffuses 



28 OUR MORAL NATURE 

the sentiment throughout the soul and finds 
exit in lively affection. 

The good man exercises love habitually. 
Under this becoming temper it becomes a habit 
or second nature to him. Were the great body 
of mankind under these guiding motives, the 
world would show an entirely different aspect. 
The various powers of the mind — sensitive, in- 
tellectual, and emotive — would come under one 
high motive. Corresponding actions would 
come forth to confirm the character and flow 
forth in beneficent acts. 

Sect. XXI. Moeality and Our Natural Fac- 
ulties. — There are some who would explain all 
morality by the use of the ordinary faculties of 
the mind. According to a very general opinion, 
morality is supposed to consist of feelings only. 
This is so far a mistake. The exercise of our 
native powers is not in itself either virtuous or 
vicious any more than is the growth of the plant 
and animal. There is no morality in the senses, 
in the understanding or in the feelings, consid- 
ered in themselves, though they all may be made 
moral or immoral according to the use made of 
them. 



OUR MORAL NATURE 29 

The senses have no morality directly, though 
they should be made to serve what is good. It 
is the office of the understanding to determine 
the precise nature of the acts. It will always 
be held that there is something defective in mo- 
rality when no feeling is excited. But it is by 
a special moral power, by the power which dis- 
cerns the good and the evil, that morality is 
discerned. When thus sanctioned the under- 
standing and the feelings come in to aid the 
conscience and to render the moral ideas more 
clear and lively. 

Sect. XXLI. The Sabbath. — Most of the/duties 
we have to perform are imposed upon us by our 
moral nature, as, for example, to speak the truth 
and be honest in all our transactions. But some 
are enjoined positively by God. Of this charac- 
ter is the weekly Sabbath. It was not instituted, 
as some suppose, at Mount Sinai on the occasion 
of the departure of the children of Israel from 
Egypt, but at the creation of the world, as a 
day of rest to commemorate God's resting from 
His work of creation. It is probable that in 
Egypt the Israelites had some difficulty in keep- 
ing the Sabbath owing to the severity of their 



30 OUR MORAL NATURE 

oppressors. On coming to Sinai they are com- 
manded to remember the Sabbath day as having 
been previously appointed. The Sabbath at 
Sinai had some peculiar restrictions suited to 
the dispensation, but not binding on us. After 
the resurrection of our Lord, the first day of 
the week, instead of the seventh, was kept as 
the Sabbath, in commemoration of His resurrec- 
tion from the dead. This day has been kept 
ever since as a day of rest and of spiritual 
improvement. It is found that even the lower 
animals require it ; horses, for instance, are apt 
to break down prematurely if made to draw 
heavy loads all days of the week. It has been 
an unspeakable privilege both to men's bodies 
and souls. All men and women require it to 
save them from incessant toil, and from the 
sinkiug down of both body and spirit. The ob- 
servance of the Sabbath has thus become a moral 
and not a mere positive injunction. The Sabbath 
has been a great blessing to individuals, as giv- 
ing them a time of rest from toil, and for higher 
exercises, and preparation for a better country, 
and to the community generally as giving lei- 
sure and motive for reflection and devotedness 
to God. 



PAET THIBD. 

DUTIES. 

Sect. XXIII. Duties to God. — From the 
above Principles and Ideas certain j>ractical acts 
are derived. These are Duties — something due, 
something to be paid. 

These are so numerous that we must arrange 
them under heads, so as to be able to remember 
and employ them. Upon the whole the old and 
scriptural classification is the most intelligible 
and convenient. We are to live soberly, right- 
eously, and godly. This would give us the 
division, only reversing the order, into the duties 
we owe to God, the duties ive owe to our fellow- 
men, into the duties ive owe to ourselves. 

It may be difficult at times to carry out this 
division. Some of the duties of life might be 
put in more than one of the classes. In a sense 
all of them might be regarded as duties we owe 
God, who is supreme. This truth should always 
be carried with us, to induce us to do all our 



32 OUR MORAL NATURE 

actions to God and thus sanctify them. But 
there are duties which we owe specially to our 
fellow-men, and duties we owe to ourselves, 
Some of the duties we owe to ourselves we owe 
also to our neighbors, such as charity. In such 
cases all we have to do is to make a statement to 
this effect, say by placing the duty under two or 
more heads. 

Beginning with our duties to God, Chalmers 
goes so far as to speak (" Natural TheoL," p. 56) 
of the duties laid upon us by the probability or 
even the imagination of a God. In our breasts, 
moving knowingly or unconsciously, there are 
prognostications of a superior power which 
prompt us to seek further till we discover the 
clear evidence of the existence of God and of His 
holy and righteous character. These prognosti- 
cations we should not seek to repress, but rather 
follow them till they lead us to a satisfactory re- 
sult, till they show us clearly the evidence of 
design and the proof of the existence of a Su- 
preme Being of intelligence and wisdom, of 
purity and love. It is one of the highest offices 
of the imagination that it is ever prompting us 
to this, if we do not resist but rather follow it 
as a grand impulse. 



OUR MORAL NATURE 33 

As we contemplate the character of God as 
seen in His works, we feel that we ought to 
cherish toward Him at all times a reverent and 
devout feeling. This we owe to Him from His 
holy character and the relation in which we 
stand to Him. in whom we live and move and 
have our being. We owe this to Him from our 
weakness and our dependence upon him. In 
particular we owe Him worship. I do not know 
whether the precise form of worship is in all 
cases prescribed. We must take care to have it 
simple ; and we must secure that its splendor 
does not suppress its sincerity. An essential 
part of it is Praise, in which we exalt the Divine 
Being, and in doing so the feelings of admiration 
and love are called forth in our own breasts. 

Another essential part is Prayer. " Prayer is 
the offering of our desires unto God for things 
agreeable to His will, with confession of our sins 
and thankful acknowledgment of His mercy" 
(Question of " Shorter Catechism " of Westmin- 
ster Divines). Believing in the existence of God, 
and knowing His character, it is clearly our duty 
to pay Him some acknowledgment. We have to 
thank Him for His constant kindness and His 
precious gifts. We have to acknowledge our 



34 OUR MORAL NATURE 

many sins of heart, of speech, and behavior. All 
this implies a regular appeal and a perpetual 
communion with God. As it is due to Him so 
it is good for us thus to unbosom ourselves to 
Him. At times we may be obliged to make our 
prayers secret, without the use of words. But 
in all cases where it can be done we should use 
words in our petitions, as this makes our prayers 
definite and expressive. 

Natural religion does not say from what quar- 
ters our public prayers are to be taken, from a 
prepared book of devotion or from extempora- 
neous expression. The former method is more 
apt to be precise and systematic, the latter to 
give a more free expression to the outpouring 
of the heart. A judicious combination of the 
two methods may often be the more expedient. 
In all cases formality is to be carefully avoided. 
Care must be taken to have public prayers ex- 
press the wants of those who pray. 

Oaths are certainly allowed in Scripture. But 
they are to be resorted to only on solemn occa- 
sions. In an oath we call God to witness that 
we speak the truth, or that we will perform what 
we promise. This gives greater security than 
an ordinary declaration, and is at times a means 



OUR MORAL NATURE 35 

of gaining confidence. We can get no stronger 
assurance from man than this appeal to God. 

God has evidently causes in this world in which 
He is deeply interested. We are to seek out 
these, inquire what they imply, and carry them 
on as far as may be in our power. There are 
missions of various sorts. There is the convic- 
tion and conversion of sinners, and the prosper- 
ity of the church and its several branches. 
There is the suppression of vice, there is the 
propagation of morality throughout the world, 
or in some particular district in which we feel 
an interest. There is the cause of missions, 
domestic and foreign. There are causes which 
God favors and which He expects us to favor by 
giving our personal services or our money 
to their support. We are thus to labor till 
we secure for God the highest place in His 
own world and over all that world. 

In general we are at once to obey whenever He 
has uttered a command, whatever be the sac- 
rifice which we are required to make. The an- 
nouncement may be made by the conscience 
as the vicegerent of God ; or it may be a com- 
mand of Scripture. It may be an order to sell 
all that we have, and give to the poor, or to 



36 OUE MOTCAL NATURE 

promote some good cause. All that we have 
to assure ourselves of is that it is the will of 
God, and then obedience should instantly fol- 
low. 

It is utterly inconceivable that God, who is 
above all, and is of a perfectly holy character, 
should require of us what is injurious to our 
best interests. He may require of us what are 
great sacrifices at the time, but which in the 
end will have greatly overbalancing recom- 
penses. 

Sect. XXIV. False Systems. — The Scriptures 
everywhere condemn false religious systems 
which existed in their day, such as the worship 
of false gods. We are to do the same in regard 
to errors which prevail in our times. 

Materialism. — It is depriving us and it is de- 
priving God of one of the most essential of his 
perfections. It makes us and it makes Him a 
mass of matter of which we have no proof that it 
can think, that it can judge or reason, or that it 
can discover the relation of means and end. 
We perceive God everywhere performing acts 
which show that he is a spirit. 

Pantheism is depriving God of one of his 



OUE MORAL NATURE 37 

highest perfections, of his personality. We 
possess this power, and should value it highly. 
We have received it from God, and must believe 
that He himself possesses it. 

Utilitarianism. — It makes us look merely to 
happiness. It says that the highest duty is to 
provide for the greatest happiness of the greatest 
-number. But the affairs of this world are so 
complicated that it is often difficult, at times 
impossible, to tell whether any given act is fitted 
to promote this end. What is meant to do so 
may turn out the very opposite, it may bring 
with it misery and not felicity. 

Sect. XXV. Duties to our Fellow-men. — 
We are to have a respect toward man as man. 
We are to honor all men. We are specially to 
have a sympathy with them in joy and sorrow. 
We are to rejoice with them that rejoice, and 
weep with them that weep. 

We are to love our neighbors as we love our- 
selves. What is the meaning of this ? We have 
in our natures an instinctive love toward our- 
selves. This is appointed, and may be appealed 
to as the standard of love which we should 
cherish toward others. 



38 OUR MORAL NATURE 

This affection, when cherished, lifts us above 
Selfishness, into which we are so apt to fall, 
above Resentment, above Murmuring at the suc- 
cess of others, above Envy, above Scandal, above 
Spitef illness. We would not do any of these to 
ourselves, and duty requires that we do not an} 7 
of them toward others. " We are to do unto 
others as we would that they should do unto- 
us." Cherishing love toward all, we are to be 
looking out and waiting for opportunities of do- 
ing them good. 

Cherishing these affections I think it is al- 
lowable to have differences in rank in the wealth 
possessed. This allows of a stimulus to people 
to rise in the world. It tends also to produce a 
higher style of manners among the upper classes, 
which stimulates the lower classes to seek to 
reach a like elevation. We must be careful not 
to carry these distinctions too far, lest we op- 
press the poorer classes. If I do not mistake 
the signs of the times, one of the burning ques- 
tions in the social contest will be the inequali- 
ties of station. 

We begin with Integrity. It is of importance 
that the young should start with a thorough 
spirit of uprightness. Without this the conduct 



OUR MORAL NATURE 39 

will be crooked and untrustworthy, and a spirit 
of suspicion and discontent will be gendered. 
The character of the man will suffer greatly by 
losing openness and frankness, and will go on 
to further excesses of the same kind, employing 
one deception to conceal another. The result is 
that suspicion will prevail throughout the com- 
munity. Calumny of every kind is to be avoid- 
ed, and a charitable rather than a harsh spirit 
is to be cherished, and it will come out in the 
habitual expression to others. 

Veracity. — It is of vast moment, both to the 
individual and the community, that there 
should be a spirit of truthfulness prevalent. 
Without this we would not know what to be- 
lieve and what not to believe, and a universal 
suspicious temper would be engendered. Chil- 
dren are to be specially trained to sincerity and 
truth-speaking in all circumstances. When this 
spirit is abroad it gives a wholesome breath to 
society and sweetens the intercourse which hu- 
man beings have with one another. Various 
good ends may be accomplished which cannot 
be gained when there is a general spirit of jeal- 
ousy and suspicion. 

Writers on ethics may be disturbed by very 



40 OUR MORAL NATURE 

perplexing questions as to how we should speak 
to imbeciles and to lunatics. It is agreed on 
all hands that we are not required to speak 
the whole truth to them. The question arises 
whether we are ever at liberty to say to them 
what is not true. I reply that this is to be 
done as seldom as possible. The cases may 
be made very rare in which we speak what is 
not consistent with fact to a lunatic. When we 
do so speak we do it as unto a wall or a tree, 
believing that the persons spoken to are not 
intelligent or responsible. In most cases it is 
best to tell the truth, believing that the conse- 
quences will not be evil. 

Property. — God has bestowed upon us certain 
powers and gifts which no one is at liberty to 
take from us or to interfere with. All attempts 
to deprive us of them is theft. Under the same 
head may be placed all purposes to deprive us 
of the right to earn property or to use it as we 
see fit. Honesty has ever been esteemed by peo- 
ple generally as one of the greatest of all virtues. 
The laws protecting it have been one of the 
greatest boons that can be conferred on man. 

Under the same head may be placed our char- 
acter and influence. They are property, and we 



OUE MORAL NATURE 41 

have a right to retain them and make a good use 
of them for our own good and that of others. 

The Duties of Communities. — Mankind are re- 
quired by their position to form themselves into 
communities, such as nations, towns, commer- 
cial companies, and clubs of various sorts. But 
no such association should be formed or joined 
where there is any illegal act to be done. On 
the supposition that all the requirements are 
lawful, there should be a rigid performance of 
duties to the members of the society and others 
with whom they stand in relation. There has 
been in America of late years a jealousy of trusts, 
which should always be carefully watched. 

The moral law is binding on communities, as 
it is upon single persons. It is a fact that there 
are persons who commit, as members of a so- 
ciety, unjust deeds which they would shrink 
from as private persons. 

Esprit de corps, which serves some good pur- 
poses, may often be encouraged in the spirit 
which pervades a body of soldiers or a class of 
students ; but it must not be carried so far in 
any case as thereby to injure individuals. 

Masters and Servants. — Servants have to give 
such service as was understood at their engage- 



42 OUR MORAL NATURE 

ment — this to be determined by custom or the 
law of the country. Masters and mistresses 
should have respect both to the best interests 
and feelings of their dependents. We all know 
how masters, and especially mistresses, are apt 
to complain of their servants. But the fault 
may lie in the caprice of those who are in au- 
thority. They should realize that the poor and 
dependent have also rights which are to be 
rigidly attended to. They should have liberty 
of thought and of religious worship. The good 
master or mistress commonly gets in the end good 
servants, who, as a rule, are apt to remain with 
those who are considerate and kind to them. 

The Family. — Mankind are bound to form 
themselves into families for the good of the 
race, for its felicity, and for its welfare. There 
are duties binding on both father and mother. 
Both have to take care of the young, to see that 
their wants are supplied for the present, and 
that they are trained to a useful occupation for 
their future lives. Every one, even the rich, 
should have some work to do. It was a good 
custom of the ancient Jews that every one should 
have an employment ; we find that the Apostle 
Paul, though of a good family, was a tent-maker. 



OUR MORAL NATURE 43 

There are duties devolving on children. They 
have to show affection to parents ; they have 
to give obedience to them, except in cases 
where their commands are seen to be clearly 
contrary to the higher demands of God. 

Brothers and sisters clearly owe affection and 
a degree of kindness to one another, and should 
be showing this perpetually. This interest 
should extend to more distant relationship, as 
far indeed as affection may be extended, or as 
far as special love is not lost in a general phi- 
lanthropy. 

The Sexual Relationships. — These are meant 
to add to our comforts, and are necessary foy 
the continuation of the race. But they are apt 
to run into perilous excess, and need to be 
carefully guarded and limited. This is specially 
required in order to the upbringing of children, 
having a respect both to their bodily welfare 
and also to their training and character. The 
special restraint on the evils is marriage, which 
ought to be carefully guarded by law. ' ' Mar- 
riage," says Dr. Dorner, "is the union of two 
persons of opposite sexes in the most intimate 
fellowship of body and soul— a fellowship in 
which each personality has its deficiencies sup- 



44 OUR MORAL NATURE 

plied and both together form a higher unity." 
It is essentially monogamous and indissoluble, 
and only as such can it be morally contracted. 
" The positive condition is that there should be 
free choice and inward inclination, that is, that 
the two persons be ready to give themselves un- 
reservedly to each other." There should only be 
one wife or one husband, that there may not be 
jealousies and quarrels, not a divided but one 
affection. 

Divorces are becoming shamefully prevalent 
in various countries. They can be allowed 
morally only from causes which virtually abro- 
gate the relationship : by unfaithfulness to the 
marriage tie or by wilful and proven aban- 
donment. They should not be allowed from 
any other cause. If they take place otherwise, 
the parties should be punished. 

Law and special marks of disgrace must be 
applied to adultery, to incest, to self-pollution, 
and unnatural crimes, as corrupting the individ- 
ual and introducing immeasurable disorder and 
misery into the household. 

Our Irascible Affections. — Our Maker has en- 
dowed us with such affections which commonly 
show themselves in some form of temper, as 



OUE MORAL NATURE 45 

quick or violent or sulky. They serve some 
good purposes. They may preserve us from 
insults or ill-usage of various sorts; may act 
like the prickles which grow on certain kinds 
of plants and keep them from being meddled 
with. But they are to be carefully watched 
and guarded. In all cases revenge is to be 
avoided. Vengeance is not a prerogative of 
man, who would most certainly abuse it. "Ven- 
geance is mine," saith the Lord. He retains it 
in his own hand, because he alone is able to esti- 
mate the offences. A prevailing love is to be 
ready to keep all irritations within proper 
bounds. 

Gaming. — It is dangerous to all. It is about 
the worst habit which the young man can form. 
Through its gains and losses it perturbs the mind 
at the time, and it is apt to lead to excesses. 
Under its influence the person is incapable of 
leading a quiet and domestic life. All this 
independent of the evil which we do to those 
with whom we gamble. 

Sect. XXVI. To the Churches. — I speak of 
them in the plural number, for they are now very 
numerous. It should be distinctly understood 



46 OUR MORAL NATURE 

that though they somewhat resemble each other, 
and both claim authority, yet the two, Church and 
State, are not the same. The temptation on the 
part of the Romish Church is to claim authority 
over the state. The disposition of some of the 
Protestant churches is to make the church sub- 
ject to the state. The true position of the two 
is, that each should have its own position. The 
churches should rule in all spiritual matters, in 
expounding dactrine and in enjoining church 
orders. But the church should not meddle 
with money or temporalities of any kind, except 
incidentally, to secure buildings or stipends to 
its ministers. On the other hand, the civil mag- 
istrate is not at liberty to interfere in spiritual 
matters, in the government or services of the 
church. It is quite possible that the two 
should so far unite, each maintaining its own 
independence. But the tendency of the present 
day is rather to keep the two entirely separate, 
both favoring peace and high morality in a 
country. 

Sect. XXVII. The State. — The existence of 
government and of laws with power of execution 
is a necessity. Without these, and with every 



OUR MORAL NATURE 47 

roan following the impulses of Lis nature, original 
and acquired, this world would be in a state of 
disquiet, disorder, and crime. If people have 
not a government ready-made for them, they 
must proceed to construct one. 

In fact, government is of divine appointment, 
being of arrangements made by God. All the 
arrangements in our world seem to point to 
this, and to show that man must have some sort 
of national government. True, it is not deter- 
mined either by the religion of nature or of 
the Bible what the nature of that government 
should be — a monarchy, an aristocracy, or a de- 
mocracy, or a mixture of the three or of any 
two of them. This seems to be left to the judg- 
ment of mankind and the providential circum- 
stances in which they are placed. But whatever 
be the form taken, it should always bear a refer- 
ence to the divine authority. In this way a 
due place may be given both to the agency of 
God and the agency of man. But to the gov- 
ernment, however formed, there must always be 
strict obedience rendered, it being always un- 
derstood that the government keeps within its 
own province, having to do with men's lives and 
their property. Smuggling of every sort must 



48 OUR MORAL NATURE 

be regarded as unlawful and liable to be pun- 
ished, as it is interfering with the nation's means 
of support. Everything should be provided 
which promotes peace and order, and every- 
thing which tends to war or discontent should 
be discountenanced and removed. 

At times it may be important to have the 
legislature or the very form of government 
changed. It is not easy to state in definite 
terms when a subject may resist a government 
and seek to overturn it. It is time to inquire 
into the subject when any individual rights, 
civil or religious, are interfered with. When 
this is done in any form obedience is not re- 
quired. In no case should a change of govern- 
ment, especially by violent means, be attempted, 
except when there is good reason to believe that 
the government that succeeds is better than 
that which has been displaced. 

Sect. XXVIII. War. — We should never allow 
ourselves to look on war except with deep so- 
lemnity. In it thousands or tens of thousands 
of men are seeking to destroy each other, But 
there are cases in which war becomes necessary 
in stirring up a spirit of independence in oppo- 



OUR MORAL NATURE 49 

sition to oppression. It calls forth the highest 
feelings of bravery, and is the subject of the 
noblest songs which we sing. But in all cases 
one of the parties at least is in the wrong, and 
in most cases both parties are in the wrong, and 
are responsible for the blood that flows. In all 
cases before engaging in war we are to enquire 
calmly and resolutely whether the party we es- 
pouse is in the right. In these days disputes 
are settled more by arbitration, and it is to be 
hoped that the number of wars will be fewer. 

Sect. XXIX. Duties to Ourselves. — Peo- 
ple imagine that they can do what they please 
with themselves, can fellow any whim or ca- 
price, can gratify any taste or pursue any line 
of conduct. But it is not so — we are under 
law to God. 

We are to attend to our bodies, we are to con- 
trol and guide our eating and drinking, and to 
regulate the exercise which we take and the air 
which we breathe. 

Self-cultivation is a special duty. So far as 

God allows, wc are to improve every faculty 

which God has given. If there be any special 

gift which He has bestowed — say of philosophy, 

4 



50 OUR MORAL NATURE 

or poetry, or science ; of business, or calculation, 
or discovery in travelling — we must reckon that 
as a call on the part of God specially to en- 
gage in it. Hugh Miller told me that if a man 
had great talents as a stone-mason, he should 
follow the trade. The gifts of genius are never 
to be neglected. When they are wanting, the 
want must be supplied by industry and appli- 
cation. Were these duties attended to, the 
world would advance steadily from age to age 
in all that is great and good. 

The individual acts devolving on us are too 
many to be enumerated. But there is a general 
spirit to be cultivated which will issue in the acts. 
There is to be a love shown to all mankind in 
the various positions in which we may be placed. 
This is a duty which we owe to our fellow-men 
and to God, but which we also owe to ourselves, 
in order to secure the influence which we ought 
to exercise. There is to be an independence in 
forming our opinions, and courage in carrying 
them out. There is a virtue which we owe to 
God and our fellow-men and women, but which 
we owe specially to ourselves — it is that of 
chastity under every form. 

Beginning in early life, we should seek to ac- 



OUR MORAL MATURE 51 

quire good and permanent habits, especially 
habits of self-command, habits of industry, hab- 
its of perseverance, habits of thorough integrity, 
habits of charity. As the result of these we will 
attain and maintain character. This will pre- 
vent us from vacillation or departing from the 
line we have chosen. It is for this purpose that 
the law of habit is given us, that it may keep us 
upright and stable. All this becoming known 
to our fellow-men, they will respect us and not 
suspect us of hypocrisy or deceit of any kind. 
Our character will come in the end to stand as 
a tower which no one has the courage to attack. 

But in order to accomplish these ends it is 
not enough to proceed at random or by impulse ; 
this can never produce any lasting effect of a 
beneficent character. There must special at- 
tention be given to habits of temperance, mean- 
ing thereby not mere abstinence from intem- 
perance or intoxicants, but in the government 
of our nature, of the tongue, and of all our lusts 
and passions. All these should be pressed upon 
us till they become parts of our being. When 
this is done in a community there is sure to be 
a general spirit of morality. 

We are bound to take all steps to preserve our 



52 OUR MORAL NATURE 

own life as we do that of others. He who takes 
his own existence is doing what he has no au- 
thority to do. He is betraying a very precious 
and solemn trust which has been committed to 
him. He is, in fact, guilty of murder. 

Nor let him say, as the suicide often does, 
that his vocation, that his usefulness is gone, 
and that there is no use in preserving what can 
only be an incumbrance. In fact, we are not in 
circumstances to say when our usefulness is 
gone. Though at present incapable of doing 
what we wish, the time may come when we can 
accomplish our ends, or more important ends 
than we contemplate. 

It may be, one of the greatest ends which we 
can succeed in carrying out is to show how pa- 
tiently, how magnanimously we can bear up 
under the depression and trials to which we are 
exposed. It is cowardly to flee when we should 
fight. The very highest purposes may be ef- 
fected by our being subjected to annoyances 
and humiliations, in bearing up against which 
we may accomplish the very noblest ends. 

In all cases it lies not with us, but with One 
who sees the end from the beginning, to deter- 
mine how long we are to hold by our position, 



OUR MORAL NATURE 53 

which we are not to abandon till God dis- 
misses us. 

The Consummation. — We have shown that man 
is a moral agent, that he can discern between 
good and evil, and that he is responsible to God 
for his opinions and his acts. We carry this 
power with us wherever we go. As we do so it 
exalts us in the scale of beings. We have with- 
in us ideas and axioms which elevate us far 
above surroundings, above inanimate nature,, 
and above the lower creatures that serve us. 



